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Polar Bear, Ursus Maritimus, Predation on Belugas, Delphinapterus Leucas, in the Bering and Chukchi Seas

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Polar Bear, Ursus Maritimus, Predation on Belugas, Delphinapterus Leucas, in the Bering and Chukchi Seas Polar Bear, Ursus maritimus, Predation on Belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, in the Bering and Chukchi Seas LLOYD F. LOWRY,1 JOHN J. BURNS1 and ROBERT R. NELSON2 1Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 1300 College Road, Fairbanks, Alaska 99701 2Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Box 1148, Nome, Alaska 99762 Lowry, Lloyd F., John J. Burns, and Robert R. Nelson. 1987. Polar Bear, Ursus maritimus, predation on Belugas, Delphinapterus /eucas, in the Bering and Chukchi seas. Canadian Field- Naturalist 101(2): 141 - 146. Two incidents of Polar Bear predation on Belugas which occurred off the coast of western Alaska in April 1984 are described. A single subadult Beluga was killed at a small lead in the Chukchi Sea, probably by a female bear with three cubs, and at least 40 whales were killed at an ice entrapment by one or more bears in the northern Bering Sea. A review of such occurrences off Alaska, Canada, and Eurasia indicates that Belugas are normal prey of Polar Bears. Bear predation may occur when whales are entrapped by ice or while unrestrained whales are passing through leads or surfacing at holes in deteriorating ice sheets. Bear predation probably has little effect on Beluga populations, although it may be of occasional significance at entrapments when many whales are killed that eventually would have been released. Belugas are large in comparison to other potential prey and may be of some local importance in Polar Bear diets. Key Words: Polar Bear, Ursus maritimus, Beluga, De/phinapterus leucas, predation, Alaska. Although it is generally recognized that Polar During a flight over the flaw zone on 27 April, we Bears, Ursus maritimus, may at times prey on Belugas sighted a female Polar Bear accompanied by three (white whales), Delphinapterus leucas (e.g. Tomilin one-year-old cubs. Blood was evident on the cubs'fur, 1957; Kleinenberg et. al. 1964), there are no published so we circled to examine the area. A large Polar Bear records of such occurrences in the waters off Alaska. was feeding on the carcass of a Beluga about 300 We present observations of Polar Bear predation on meters from the sow and cubs. We landed and Beluga Whales in the Bering and Chukchi seas, examined the carcass and kill site (68°54.9'N, describe the environmental circumstances surround­ 166°48.5'W). ing the events, and discuss the possible significance of The carcass was on a large piece of thick ice that this phenomenon. formed one edge of a lead that had numerous medium-sized floes adrift in it (Figure 1). With the Observations exception of some very small openings, the area During spring of 1984, a marine mammal research between the floes was filled with thin ice and slush. An program was conducted in the eastern Chukchi Sea obvious trail of blood led from the carcass to the edge near Cape Lisburne, Alaska. Field operations of the lead where it ended in slush ice. It was unclear included helicopter flights over the shorefast ice, flaw exactly where the kill had been made. However, when zone, and drifting pack ice. Below-normal tempera­ we later searched the area from the air, we located a tures prevailed in the area throughout the first part of patch of blood-stained snow and numerous bear April. The low temperatures followed almost a month tracks on a floe that was drifting slowly up the lead, of above-normal temperatures and resulted in about 150 meters from where the blood trail ended. continual freezing of leads. On 24 April open water The bear had apparently caught the whale from the areas appeared in the flaw zone and rapidly developed drifting ice when the floe was against the edge of the into an extensive lead system. Hundreds of Belugas lead, pulled the whale onto the floe, then dragged it were seen moving northward through the leads from onto the more stable ice. 25 to 27 April. The leads were again mostly refrozen The carcass was that of a young Beluga (standard from 29 April to 3 May. During this period whales length 230 cm), probably 2 years old. The skin and were occasionally sighted in small cracks and under blubber had been entirely removed from the head and thin ice. Impressions of Belugas, made when thin ice torso but was still intact on the flukes. A detached formed over the backs of stationary whales, were seen section of skin (about 60 by 100 cm) was near the throughout the flaw zone. The leads reopened on 4 carcass. All of the blubber had been chewed or May and Belugas were seen moving northward from scraped off that piece of skin. The chest and then until our observations ended on 13 May. abdominal cavities had been opened but all organs 141 142 THE CANADIAN FIELD-NATURALIST Vol. 101 ~ 20 meters ~ BELUGA CARCASS u-ICEFLOE -THIN ICE ~-WATER FIGURE I. Diagram of the area where a Polar Bear killed a Beluga in the eastern Chukchi Sea, 27 April 1984. were intact. Both front flippers and some ribs were Little Diomede (approximate pos1t1on 65°48.2'N, missing, and the muscle of the axial skeleton had been 168° 54.0'W). An estimated 30 Polar Bears were removed to the bone. The lower jaw was broken. The scavenging carcasses of Belugas that were scattered carcass was not frozen although the air temperature at around the opening in the ice. the time was -l0°C. We also received reports of Polar Bear predation on The second instance of predation also occurred in Belugas in the southern Chukchi Sea in April 1984, the spring of 1984. Bears and dead whales were first but we were unable to document the circumstances seen and photographed on 24 April from an airplane through personal examination or photographs. The flying just south of Bering Strait, between Fairway first report was from people snowmachining in the Rock and Little Diomede Island (approximate vicinity of Cape Thompson (68°08'N, l66°00'W) who location 65°41.5'N, 168°45.0'W). At that time it was saw where Polar Bears had killed "at least" one Beluga reported that there were 15 Polar Bears and a large (Roland Quimby, personal communication). The number of carcasses longer than 2 meters spread second report was from a pilot (David Furber, around a hole in the ice (John Fray, personal personal communication), who reported seeing communication). A diagram of the situation was numerous Belugas in two small holes in an area of constructed from photographs (Figure 2). It was extensive refrozen leads (approximate position difficult to identify all Beluga carcasses because many 67° 49'N, 165° l 5'W). Several Polar Bears and several were partially covered by drifting snow or obscured by dead Belugas were on the ice nearby. ice ridges. Nevertheless, counts indicated a minimum of 40 Belugas on the ice, and an additional 12 to 15 Discussion possible carcasses. Most of the carcasses had been fed Prior to 1984 we received few reports of Polar Bear upon only minimally, and appeared to be of gray, predation on Belugas in the Bering and eastern subadult animals. Five bears visible in the Chukchi seas. On 26 March 1967, Robert Curtis saw a photographs were all medium to large animals. The dead Beluga on the ice in the southern Chukchi Sea pilot reported that at the time of the sighting there that he said had been caught and partially eaten by a were numerous leads nearby, and open water was Polar Bear (personal communication to Francis H. visible in the photographs at a distance of about l km. Fay). Nelson Walker, who for many years was The kill site was observed again on 6 May by engaged in guiding Polar Bear hunters in the central residents of Little Diomede Island (Little Sister Chukchi, often saw small groups of Belugas Joseph Alice, personal communication). By that time entrapped by ice in the region west of 168° W the ice had drifted to a location about 4 km north of longitude (personal communication). Bears hunted at 1987 LOWRY, BURNS, AND NELSON: POLAR BEAR PREDATION 143 B . ' ' ' ' ' ' B ' ' ' B·:\~~;::<,>:: ::::~;:: :: :; :4:::::;:; :; :}'.>' . ? ? ',',',',',',', ,-,·,·, ,',',·,·,',' ,·,·, . '' . ',·,·,',',',',',',·, . ,<</>:::;~;<,"',~\~<~~::~:~:<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<,",-',-',-' ,-',-' _, , , .)::;:::;:::'.,'·' . X B ? B ' ' B B ' ' ? ' ' BB x B BB ? B B ? ? B B B B B-BELUGA CARCASS ~-ICE ?-PROBABLE BELUGA CARCASS ~-WATER X-POLAR BEAR FIGU RE 2. Diagram of the area where Polar Bears killed Belugas in the northern Bering Sea, April 1984. many ofthe entrapments, and up to seven dead whales There are few reports describing interactions of were seen. On 15 May 1979, in the northeastern Polar Bears and Belugas in the eastern Canadian Chukchi Sea near Point Barrow(71°01'N, 157°25'W), Arctic. Degerb¢1 and Freuchen (1935) reported that Don K. Ljungblad (personal communication) saw bears were known to attack Belugas entrapped in ice four Polar Bears, two of which were feeding on a in Baffin Bay. Freeman (1973) provided an interesting Beluga carcass, while a third was pulling a whale out description of an event that occurred in March 1970 of the water through very thin ice. The kills had been near the southeastern tip of Ellesmere Island. Local made at the north end of a narrow lead. An estimated hunters reported that a medium-sized female Polar 40 to 60 Belugas were milling about in a wider portion Bear had caught and removed three Belugas (one of the lead just to the south. Ar.other occurrence was subadult, one adult female, and one adult of unknown documented by a photograph in Mitchell and Reeves sex) from a small open water area alongside a partially (1981) taken on 12 July 1975 in the Beaufort Sea grounded iceberg.
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